Pages

Wednesday, December 31, 2014

It's time to say hello to 2015, which promises new beginnings and adventures. I just wanted to take this time to say thank you to everyone I met in 2014 who has helped me along my way. 2014 was a year of travel for me, and although contact was not always immediate, I've made some life long friends, and have learned so much more than I ever imagined. 2015 begins with a shiny new, mastered, full length audio recording! I'm so excited to share this one with you all, but that also means a huge shift in my sonic presentation. The year of "Overdue" is over, and I am a bit sad to see it go. Here at L&L headquarters we went through 2 pressings of LP & cassettes, which is quite a success!

In support of "Overdue" I had the opportunity to play over 100 gigs, in 23 new
cities, and 8 new countries.

A big hug to these people, all who I've met on the road. If you haven't heard of these artists, I've linked each to a music page. Please check it out!

Monday, December 22, 2014

I am excited to announce that Mind Over Mirrors
asked me to collaborate on his next release. In support of this album
we are doing 3 weeks of live shows this February. I'm very excited to
see you all, stripped of my guitar, and getting deep into my voice. You can read / pre-order the album using the link below, or come see us live at one of the dates below.

Monday, November 3, 2014

I am so excited to say that we have 100 cassettes of my neighbor's music, "Moon Bros.", available. He is one of the most talented musicians I have ever met and I hope you can find the time to enjoy some of his tunes. Cassettes are available for $7.00 (includes S+H in the U.S.). Please get in touch for world postage. Info below::

Moon Bros. - Frijolillo L&L003CS040

The
first L&L release not originating from the palette of labelhead
Haley Fohr. Matt Schneider is a guitar player, and maybe the best we’ve
ever personally known. Seeing Matt’s fingerwork firsthand is the ideal
scenario for experiencing this music; even to the untrained and
unpracticed eye Matt’s style is confounding: adorned with personal
flourishes and bluntly complex, it is simultaneously free of traditional
scales, chords, and keys. Each composition is instantaneous,
improvised and launched from the aether fully formed, making sense only
in relation to the spontaneously formed rules of sound interaction.
This limited cassette only release is available only here, at shows,
and wherever Matt happens to leave a few copies in exchange for taco
money. Recorded at The Compound in Little Village, not to be confused
with any of the other many compounds where recording happens.

Friday, September 26, 2014

I recently played Hopscotch Festival, where my set was captured by NYCTAPER.

This year was my year of transformation. Since October of last year, I've played over 100 shows in support of my new album "Overdue". Many of these shows were opening slots for larger gigs, some shows were in theaters, some in galleries, many in bars.

At first it was rather easy for me. There is a fire that burns in me, and it seems like a no-brainer to get on stage, and do what I do. To sing, and let it out, and be given the opportunity to alter someone's life for even an moment in time. I've been given a small opportunity and I'm trying to create momentum. Then, suddenly this past summer while opening for Xiu Xiu, there was a very dangerous evolution in my performance as an artist. I became hyper aware of the audience (although this was not hard to do). In many shows, audience members would yell over my songs, and suddenly I was distorted, and loud 80% of the time. I was competing for attention, trying to scream a message over a sea of conversation, and it's made me think quite a bit about my place.

On one hand I have to think about these people. What is it they're saying that is so important? Maybe two lost friends have been reconnected, or something terrible has happened to the woman at the end of the bar, and the words coming from her mouth are her only tether to sanity. The dudes taking shots and chanting someone's name probably work 60 hours a week, and it is a Friday night after all.

But then I think about myself. About how I took an hour train ride to get on a plane, then rented a car, then drove thousands of mile. I have sacrificed everything in my life, and all I get is 35 minutes to send a message. I know this moment has been stolen from me. Suddenly I don't want to play on stage at all. Suddenly I'm opening my sets with songs I have never even played before (Untitled 1, Untitled 2), because, frankly, I don't give a fuck. I can't stop to tune my guitar because I can't hear it, or I feel rushed and uncomfortable. Suddenly I'm maxing out my distortion and yelling because it's the only way I can focus and hear myself. Suddenly I am angry, and I am being loud for the sake of being loud. I'm trying to burn everything around me, not because of anything internal, but only due to the external. I feel like I am a woman and her guitar against the world. That is a terrible way to feel. I'm pushing my voices in ways that are unhealthy, I'm getting sick on the road, and it's all to drown you out. How terrible is that? That is not why either of us are here.

I'm currently writing new material, and am trying so hard to stay open, to hold onto my message and keep the world from drowning it. It's been a rewarding year for me. To those people who scream over my set, mimic the sound of my voice, or chant a headliner's name while I am trying to say something, I hear you and it effects me. Although I will not acknowledge you from the stage, I remember you as an obstacle. Music is 50% giving and 50% receiving and without you I can't do me, and the system inevitably fails. I'm sorry that I have failed you as an artist in these instances, and have taken a narrow mind set on the situation. I'm not here to judge. I want to give you all the benefit of the doubt, but it is changing me. I feel that I must arm myself with sound, with musicians, and take back what I feel has been stolen from me with an army of friends and supporters. I must leave behind trying to dominate a room with just my voice and guitar, because a sea of people will always overpower 1 woman, and I can't afford to be slaughtered night after night. I no longer want my guitar to be used as a weapon.

Take a listen to this set from Hopscotch. I am rushing through songs, playing an out of tune guitar, and stumbling through new songs like a toddler on a playground. Although it pains me to listen to this set, I think it is important for people to hear.

Thursday, July 24, 2014

I am more than ecstatic to be meeting up again with Xiu Xiu, this time to play 2 weeks of dates all along the West Coast. It will be my first proper California adventure, filled with sunshine, ice cream, and good times.

Also check out my additional August and September dates to fill out the fall, and the last leg of my tour in support of "Overdue".